1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates in general to object persistence on computer systems, and more particularly, to a transparent object instantiation/initialization from a relational database.
2. Description of Related Art
In modern computer systems, relational databases are used to store large amounts of data. A Relational Data Base Management System (RDBMS) is utilized to control access to, storage in, and manipulation of data that is stored in the relational database. More recently, Object-Oriented Programming Systems (OOPS) have also been used more extensively to create a new programming environment for computer systems.
The merger of RDBMS and OOPS has proceeded slowly because of the large differences in approach to data storage and manipulation. Further, the large number of installations of RDBMS has slowed the progress of OOPS because of this incompatibility.
One of the major incompatibilities is that an OOPS has difficulties creating (instantiating) a new object from an underlying RDBMS, because the object types, which are described in a header file (typically written in C++), is language dependent and therefore cannot be used universally with an RDBMS. Since creation of instances is difficult, the data structure of the underlying program cannot be manipulated easily, creating slower systems and more possibilities for error.
It can be seen, then, that there is a need in the art for a method to bridge the differences between RDBMS and OOPS. Further, there is a need for a merged RDBMS/OOPS system to be able to create an instance of an object without specific knowledge of the object types. There is also a need for a merged RDBMS/OOPS system to be able to store an instance of an object.
To overcome the limitations in the prior art described above, and to overcome other limitations that will become apparent upon reading and understanding the present specification, the present invention discloses a method, apparatus, and article of manufacture for instantiation and initialization of an object from a relational database. The relational database is created with object assist columns within the database, and instances of the object are created using the object assist columns. The instance is then stored in the database itself.
These and various other advantages and features of novelty which characterize the invention are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed hereto and form a part hereof. However, for a better understanding of the invention, its advantages, and the objects obtained by its use, reference should be made to the drawings which form a further part hereof, and to the accompanying detailed description, in which there is illustrated and described specific examples of a method, apparatus, and article of manufacture in accordance with the invention.